The Task

Something diabolical is taking place on the set of "The Task" a new reality show in which players complete terrifying missions within the confines of an abandoned prison hoping to win a hefty cash prize. As six young students explore their new environment, malicious spirits make their presence known in the most gruesome ways imaginable, Unable to escape the labyrinthine prison, the contestants become unwitting pawns caught at the centre of a blood-soaked night of terror.

The Task torrent reviews

Andrew S (de) wrote: It's worse than most sci-fi's or period pieces- but compared to most sci-fi/period piece hybrids, I suppose it's about average...

Taochou W (ag) wrote: A much more effective film than Hotel Rwanda.

Trevor C (au) wrote: It's a very beautiful movie in the darkest way. The world of Hiroshi (Tadanobu Asano) is in subtle chaos, as he cannot remember anything after a car accident that resulted in the death of his girlfriend. He is a mortician student and somehow is spiritually connected to his dead girlfriend, while at the same time another girl falls for him. He finds out that the body he has to dissect is that of his dead girlfriend and from there forward his memories start to return and he goes to bizarre realms of his own mind, beyond dreaming, where he can be with his deceased girlfriend. Throughout the movie there are wonderful yet sometimes disturbing images and well acted characters accompanied by this great story. Overall the message isn't entirely clear to me, and there are many moments that can be interpreted in different ways, but this is a very interesting movie that is definitely worth checking out.

Blake D (it) wrote: A very good low-budget WWII film, with amazing characterization

Hunter D (ca) wrote: Brian Yuzna is one of my absolute favorite horror directors. I have a lot of great memories from college involving me, some friends, lots of beer and a grotty VHS copy of Necronomicon or the DVD of Beyond Re-Animator. Booze and a Brian Yuzna film was always a recipe for a kick ass movie party. To me, Yuzna's first film as a director, Society, is a bona fide genre classic. It's creative, it's really creepy, and it's laugh-out-loud funny. Many of the films he made afterward weren't exactly good movies, but even they always had stuff that was so outrageous and fantastic to offer that they were never boring. Even crap like Rottweiler and Faust: Love of the Damned have stuff that's utterly insane and strangely interesting beneath the sleaze and decadence that fills every frame of those movies. Beneath Still Waters is Yuzna's most recent film, made in 2005 under his Spanish genre-film company banner Fantastic Factory, which has since been put out to pasture, and if this movie was the best his company had to offer in 2005, it should come as no surprise that the Fantastic Factory has closed its doors. Beneath Still Waters is honestly the first Brian Yuzna film I've seen that I think is truly terrible. Even Yuzna's worst films prior to this one were at least watchable. This movie is the first film by Yuzna to lack the one key ingredient that makes most of his work memorable, and that missing link is passion. This movie feels utterly devoid of it, not only from Yuzna's direction, but from everyone involved. With this movie, it felt like Yuzna was setting out to make something other than his usual anarchistic fare (he also tried this with Rottweiler, although that movie had interesting ideas going for it), instead opting to make an atmospheric, Lovecraftian horror story about a sunken Spanish town at the bottom of a lake that was flooded by its mayor in order to contain the evil that was growing there. People start getting attacked by a black ooze coming from the lake (which is the opposite of scary), and a laughable villain who looks like The Tall Man's kid brother with a case of the downs terrorizes the populace. A couple of zombies show up here, a weird monster shows up there, and this writer reaches for the fast-forward button so that he can go do something more fun, such as laundry, the dishes, or schedule an appointment with the proctologist. The plot of this movie is almost incomprehensible. The way Yuzna lets some of the scenes play out is almost downright incompetent, with pacing and development that makes folks like Uwe Boll and Bruno Mattei look like master storytellers. Aside from a few fleeting moments, it would be hard for someone to show this to me and have me guess that it was a Brian Yuzna film, as his joyful anything-goes attitude towards genre filmmaking is completely absent, instead replaced with lifeless direction, actors who sleepwalk through their roles, and special effects that lack any spark or life (where's Screaming Mad George when you need him?). Something I hate to see in a horror film is when a director builds suspense to what should be a scare or a jolt, but instead has something else happen, like a friend sneak up on one of the characters or a cat leap out of a closet. There is one scene in the film where Yuzna builds up not one, but two fake scares, and not one, but two "real" scares, and they don't necessarily happen in that order. It's a lot to ask of an audience to stay with you after faking them out in a cheap way, it's impossible to ask them to stay with you four times in the same scene. It's terrible writing, and it's abominable directing. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, in the cast gives a dreadful performance, Bruno Mattei's Hell of the Living Dead, one of the worst zombie movies ever made, had better acting than this. Granted, the actors don't have much to work with in the way of a screenplay, but the things that come out of their mouths and the way they deliver the nuclear missile lines written for them is jaw-dropping. This wouldn't be so terrible if Yuzna's direction didn't suggest that we, the audience, take what is going on seriously, which is something he rarely does. Yuzna's never been one to skimp on the gore, and there is plenty of it in this film, but the Poe-faced way in which these scenes unfold come off as mean-spirited and borderline offensive, as opposed to the way he normally executes these scenes, which is usually with a balls-to-the-wall gusto that any genre fan can get behind. Even the most die hard Yuzna fan should steer clear of this filth.

Nathaniel M (jp) wrote: End breaks down a bit, but overall an example where minimalism can take a seemingly cliche genre and make it real again.

Patrick S (gb) wrote: This movie always challenges me to be a better person and to help those in need. Great film, a must-see.

Jose Miguel G (fr) wrote: To be fair, it does came up with an small effort of putting together a logical story, serving as a decent follow up, but it lacks the charm and visual delight of the first film, and even that one lacked a strong vibe of a classic Disney feat.

Robert I (mx) wrote: Sometimes I wonder how movies get made. This film's logline: A married man has an affair with his best friend's daughter. Somehow, despite the film being a John Waters-type taboo, I bought into it. Afterwards, I felt cheated out of Rio and of the plot. But, Michael Caine in un-unlikeable. You can't hate him. He's just too great. Demi Moore in an early role flirts with a really dark character... But eventually turns out to be a living plot device. The harlot daughter is a pretty terrible actress. I'm not surprised this didn't end unconventionally in the 80s. I'm left thinking this film might actually be more successful now, because we seem to better capable at taking risks.

Benjamin S (kr) wrote: Dreadful film, that makes no sense, only Mae West scenes have any life to them. Rachel Welch shows much promise, but is given a train wreck of a script to work with. Dull and dreary.

Aaron G (ag) wrote: A fever dream of a movie, a tribute to the ethereal qualities so prevalent in the Val Lewton films of the early 40s.

Harry E (nl) wrote: In a way, one can only appreciate this knowing that it is the last film the Marx Brothers ever made together. It gives a touch of poignancy to the sentimental weariness of the Brothers. Chico is touching, perhaps for the only time, waxing nostalgic. It isn't much of a good comedy, but Harpo's turn as the sad clown is beautifully bittersweet. Playing it all out on his harp for the last time in cinema, he tugs at the heartstrings.

Drew T (ca) wrote: worst dance movie ever. im a dancer and i happen to be a freerunner, and the only good thing about this movie was chase armitage from 3run. the dance routines were wack, and looked like they were choreographed by brittney spears. Horrible dance movie, horrible movie all together.

Jacob D (br) wrote: A slow burn of a movie that definitely pays off, it will leave you horrified!